A 53-year-old man who allegedly sneaked unnoticed onto a Minneapolis school bus, then cut a seat and apparently masturbated near the children on board was arrested and charged this week after police identified DNA evidence he left behind.

Michael C. Friedrichs of Minneapolis was charged Thursday in Hennepin County District Court with fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, a gross misdemeanor.

On the morning of March 17, Friedrichs boarded the bus at Longfellow Avenue South and Woodlawn Boulevard with a hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head and a backpack shielding his face, according to police.

The driver, who normally picked up a student at that stop, “did not think anything was out of the ordinary,” according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

The driver continued on his route, picking up additional students, all elementary-school age.

When the bus stopped at 41st Street and Longfellow Avenue South, Friedrichs jumped up and left, “saying something about this is not his stop,” the complaint said. Once outside, he fled on foot.

“The driver kinda then said, ‘Hey, that’s not a kid,’ ” said Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer, noting Friedrichs made no attempt to hide himself as he left.

Police were called, and the students were interviewed. One noticed a fresh cut on the seat in front of the one where Friedrichs had been sitting. The same student had noticed the man, whom she recognized as an adult, and thought he was an acquaintance of the driver.

The man turned so that his back was to the students, put one of his hands on the seat in front of him and began rocking back and forth.

Officers found semen on a seat cushion and on the floor near where Friedrichs had been sitting. The substance matched Friedrich’s DNA profile, taken because of a 2004 felony conviction for fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct. Friedrichs pleaded guilty to that crime.

The district confirmed that the bus was on the way to Seward Montessori School.

An Apple Valley police officer contacted Minneapolis police during their investigation, notifying them that Friedrichs was being investigated there for an alleged “sex act on a school bus,” according to the complaint.

Friedrichs has been convicted of drunken driving twice in Minnesota.

The bus, contracted by Minneapolis Public Schools, is owned by Minneapolis & Suburban Bus Co. in Minneapolis.

District officials released a statement Thursday acknowledging the incident, noting that “no students were harmed. 911 was called and the parents of the students on the bus were immediately notified.”

District spokeswoman Rachel Hicks also said “the bus driver on the route was immediately removed from driving on Minneapolis Public Schools routes” at the request of the district.

Friedrichs was in the Hennepin County Jail on Thursday evening, with bail set at $35,000.

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